I'll Make A Man Out of You
by damnedflattery
Summary: AUish version of the movie. Mulan is transgendered, so it's kind of femmeslash... I dunno. Read if you're interested. If not... don't. Feel free to review I love reviews but don't leave hate for me.
1. She'll Bring Honor to us all

Title: I'll make a man out of you  
Author: Scout Graham  
Pairing: Ping/?  
Rating: No idea yet  
Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan... hahaha owning people, that's called slavery.  
Summary- Mulan with a trans twist... if you don't like stuff like this don't read it. 3

Chapter One- She'll bring honor to us all.

A woman is quiet, demure, graceful, delicate, and punctual. They are calm and obedient to their husbands. These husbands expect the women to work at a fast pace and do all of the chores given to them while bearing the children. They are to serve the emperor with beauty and serenity. Mulan has etched all of this into her mind but it doesn't change anything. She still doesn't think of herself as the quiet, beautiful wife of a man. When Mulan goes into town to see the matchmaker, late as usual, she sees the draft posters. She sees the scrolls with her Father's name on them. This doesn't do anything to help her frazzled nerves but she pushes it out of her mind which is filled with the chirping of so many questions. How is she going to be a graceful woman if she would rather be the husband of one? What if the matchmaker could see through her disguise? What if she brought dishonor to her family? That was the only reason why she had shown up today. She didn't want any dishonor to fall on her poor family, who didn't know about Mulan's dishonorable thoughts about other women or about the dreams she had where she was very male and had a wife and family. The very thought of the role in the marriage she was being pushed into made Mulan queasy. Her Mother and another woman readied her to be appraised by the matchmaker; her mind however was still in another place. Seeing herself in the mirror dressed up to be auctioned off really freaked her out. She felt like she wasn't in her own body, that couldn't be her in the mirror she must be trapped in someone else's body. There was no time however to think about that as her Mother rushed her to the group of girls who were to be married.

As the matchmaker called her name Mulan felt her heart drop. Here was the moment she had feared and it felt surreal as she followed the matchmaker into the house already making her first mistake when she announced her presence. Mulan's heart rate did not slow as the matchmaker sized her up.

"Too skinny not good for bearing sons" said the cranky old woman. Mulan didn't want to bear sons anyways, what was she a breeding tool?

"Recite the final admonition." the matchmaker said to Mulan's horror.

"Fulfill your duties calmly and respectfully. Reflect before you act. This shall bring you honor and glory." Mulan managed to stammer out nervously, she was so bad at this. The matchmaker regarded her nervousness as cheating and checked Mulan's fan suspiciously for writing. When she found none she flatly said:

"Now pour the tea, to please your future in-laws you must demonstrate a sense of dignity and refinement. You must also be poised."

Mulan managed to pour the tea with minimum spillage and handed it to the matchmaker. It looked as if Mulan would get through this ordeal with some honor when the matchmaker asked her:

"What will you do when your husband asks you to cook the dinner?"

Completely caught off guard Mulan answered with the first thing that popped into her head:

"I will tell him that he can make his own rice, it's one of the simplest meals to make."

"What? A good wife obediently cooks all of the meals for her husband." The Matchmaker was floored, no one had ever talked back to her before. There was nothing that Mulan could to do change what she had said so she went with it.

"That isn't very fair to the woman." The matchmaker had heard enough. She grabbed Mulan and threw her out yelling:

"YOU ARE A DISGRACE; YOU MAY LOOK LIKE A BRIDE BUT YOU WILL NEVER BRING YOUR FAMILY HONOR."

This is a reference to the Chinese Legend of Mu-Lan. You can find the poem where I took the lines from here  :D


	2. If I were truly to be myself

Title: I'll make a man out of you  
Author: Scout Graham  
Pairing: Ping/?  
Rating: No idea yet  
Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan... hahaha owning people, that's called slavery. It's also illegal.  
Summary- Mulan with a trans twist... if you don't like stuff like this don't read it. 3

Chapter Two- If I were truly to be myself I would break my family's heart. 

Mulan returned home numb from the dishonor she had just brought upon her family. As she led Khan to his water past the sad look of disappointment on her father's face she felt truly lost. She walked over to her family's small pond to be alone with her thoughts for a while. She looked at her reflection in the pond and wondered how she would ever be the perfect bride or daughter; she didn't even know the person that was staring back at her. She slowly wandered her way to the shrine for their ancestors. Looking at the pitiful reflection again on the shined stone of her ancestors' graves she removed her makeup and wondered if her reflection would ever show the person that she was inside. She left the shrine of the ancestors that she had disgraced and chose to sit under a cherry tree to think instead. As she heard her father approaching she felt the nervous sadness that comes with talking to someone that you've let down. She listened as he tried to make her feel better, but he sure as hell wasn't helping. She wished that she could've believed what he said about her being a late bloomer, but she knew that it wasn't the case. At least he still loved her, she was very lucky to have a father who loved her even though she was a disgrace. 

The sound of the war drum interrupted their moment as they both rose to see what was going on. Mulan's mother kept Mulan from leaving with her father. This didn't stop Mulan though; she instead climbed one of the front walls to see what was going on. There were three men on horseback, two of them wearing the uniform of the Imperial Army. The men in uniform reminded her of the scrolls and posters she had seen earlier. In that second she realized that the conscription was upon them. Without thinking Mulan ran to her father as his name was called, she had to stop them. He was an injured war hero; they surely wouldn't make him serve again. Apparently suggesting this was another dishonor, she was just raking them in today. Quietly her grandmother escorted her back to their house. She would let her father cool off for a while and then would try to reason with him.

It was dinner time and Mulan's Mother had asked her to fetch her Father. So Mulan was walking through her house silently when she happened upon her Father practicing his sword skills. She watched as he made ornate patterns with the long blade, his work was the result of many long hours training and fighting with that same sword, he was not the great Fa Zhou for nothing. She almost forgot about his bad leg until in the middle of one of his patterns he stumbled, wincing in pain, and grasped at his leg. He would never be able to survive training with his leg like that, never mind fighting the Huns. Mulan knew that she had to convince him to stay or she would lose him forever.

At dinner everyone was silent, it wasn't often that a daughter disgraced a family twice in the same day but Mulan had somehow pulled it off. She didn't even care about the honor that she had lost anymore she was too busy worrying about her Father. The thunder and lightning outside only add to the mood as Mulan pours the tea for her family, finally she has had enough.

"You shouldn't have to go" she says angrily as she slams down her teacup.

"Mulan!!" her mother hisses through clenched teeth as she tries to quiet her unruly daughter.

"There are plenty of young men to fight for China!" Mulan rambles on trying to make Fa Zhou the war hero, her father, see her point.

"It is an honor to protect my country and family" her Father says calmly.

"So you'll die for honor?!?!" Mulan yells incensed. This angers her Father very much.

"I will DIE doing what's right." He says standing; his rage is evident in every word. Mulan starts to speak but he cuts her off.

"I know my place, it is time you learned yours." He says his words sting Mulan as she runs out of the house almost in tears.

After sitting in the rain thinking about it, Mulan has come to a conclusion. There is only one thing she can do and now she must pray to her ancestors for help, which she was going to need a lot of. After her she lights her incense and leaves her prayer, she quietly sneaks into her parents' room and takes the conscription notice. Her next stop is her Father's armory where she takes his sword and cuts her hair to the suitable length for a boy. She ties it up and puts on the rest of her Father's armor. She saddles up Khan and gets ready to leave. It's strange to think about leaving behind her family and life but this new one feels almost right. Ever since she put on the armor something clicked, she was comfortable. She tells herself that the only reason she's doing this is to save her father but knows that that isn't the case. With one last look at her home she spurs on Khan hopefully into the new life that she is making for them. She doesn't know that the first ancestor was listening to her prayers and is sending her help. She also doesn't know that her family awakes to find her missing and is heartbroken. She only knows that she likes the feeling of the wind on her face and the armor on her body as she rides Khan through the dark night.

"At dawn she takes leave of Father and Mother,  
In the evening camps on the Yellow River's bank.  
She doesn't hear the sound of Father and Mother calling,  
She only hear the Yellow River's flowing water cry _tsien tsien._"


	3. No Your Grand daughter

Title: I'll make a man out of you  
Author: Scout Graham  
Pairing: Ping/OC  
Rating: No idea yet  
Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan... technically Disney doesn't either and Mulan is actually a legend, so sorry ancient legend people but I'm just tweaking the story a little. Don't sue me!!  
Summary- Mulan with a Trans twist... if you don't like stuff like this don't read it. 3

Chapter Three- "No your grand-daughter had to be a cross dresser!" 

The First Ancestor knew all. Yet somehow this young and eager member of his family had surprised him with the path she had chosen. He knew that somehow Mulan had always been off, she seemed to be unique like a person with two spirits, but the correct one was trapped in the wrong body. She definitely didn't conform to most of her gender expectations, but he hadn't expected her to steal away in the night to save her father by dressing as a man. He could see great honor in her future if she or should he say "he" made it out of the war alive. The first ancestor would not deny the newest generation of Fas happiness with honor on top of it but this young Fa was going to need _a lot_ of help. He needed a plan, he needed:

"Mushu, awaken!"

The First Ancestor watched in a somewhat amused and somewhat annoyed manner as the puny dragon made a dramatic entrance. Mushu would be perfect for his plan; but he couldn't let the lizard like creature, which was now showboating around like an all-powerful guardian, know that. So after kindly deflating the little dragon's guardian dreams and making him wake the ancestors, the First Ancestor put his plan to work. The ancestors seemed to be cranky after being disturbed from their nap and as usual an argument was quick to follow.

"No, your granddaughter had to be a cross-dresser!" yelled a very upset ancestor. The First Ancestor chuckled to himself at her mistake, however wrong she was; she was the closest to being right out of all of them.

"Let a guardian bring her back!" Yet another ancestor suggested. This was the opportunity that the First Ancestor had been waiting for. He listened as fighting broke out over which guardian to send and interjected at the perfect moment:

"Silence! We must send the most powerful of all."

As Mushu misinterpreted this statement and volunteered for the job the First Ancestor knew this plan was going to be very, very possible. He then insulted Mushu and told him to awaken the great Stone Dragon, the spirit of which had left the family's service many moons before, but this small fact was only known to the First Ancestor.

After a few minutes of letting Mushu struggle with the Herculean task he had been sent upon, the First Ancestor checked on him. Mushu's reply almost made the First Ancestor laugh, but he could not betray his plan and sent Mushu away with the words:

"Go, the fate of the Fa family rests in your claws." 

In the clearing next to the river Mulan was adjusting to her new appearance and working on letting herself become fully masculine. At the moment she was having a little bit of trouble, after keeping the male part of her hidden for so long it was hard to just turn her hidden personality back on. The armor and short hair helped a lot, but she still didn't feel fully free yet. In her state of confusion and unhappiness she mumbled:

"It's going to take a miracle to get me into the army." Little did she know a small lizard-looking dragon and a "lucky" cricket had been watching her for what seemed to them to be hours but was probably in reality only a few minutes. The two silent figures finally seized this opportunity to talk to Mulan.

"Did I hear someone ask for a miracle!? Let me hear you say aye!!!" Mushu yelled trying to make yet another showy entrance.

"AHHH!" Mulan yelped as she dashed behind a rock and hid.

"That's close enough." Mushu yelled unfazed.

"A ghost." Mulan murmured from her hiding place behind the rock.

"Get ready Mulan for your serpentine salvation is at hand. For I have been sent by your ancestors to guide you through your masquerade," there was a pause and what sounded like whispers, "Heed my word, 'cause if the army finds out that you are a girl, the penalty is death!!" For dramatic effect flames shot from behind Mushu's rock.

"Who are you?" Mulan intoned curiously.

"Who am I? Who am _I??_ I am the guardian of lost souls. I am the powerful, the pleasurable, the indestructible Mushu!" He said finally revealing himself.

"Ah, my ancestors sent a little lizard to help me?" Mulan asked still confused by the appearance of this new creature. Obviously she had no idea how much that would set off the little guy. When he started talking about dishonor, Mulan cut him off.

"Stop! I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm just nervous. I've never done this before." This apology seemed to appease the little dragon and now Mulan had two new members of her little traveling group. They decided to camp there on the river for the night and head in to Wu Shu camp, where Mulan would have to pass for the first time. This would be the first obstacle during her quest, having people believe that she was a boy. Mulan hoped that it would come naturally; being a girl hadn't so maybe being a boy would be easier. She was still nervous, and when they all climbed into their tent to sleep Mulan laid for hours staring at the canvas ceiling, too anxious to sleep. Finally after counting concubines into the hundreds she drifted off into an uneasy sleep with dreams about failure and death penalties, but most of all dreams about finally feeling right as a boy.


	4. I hope he doesn't see right through me I

Title: I'll make a man out of you  
Author: Scout Graham  
Pairing: Ping/OC  
Rating: No idea yet  
Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan... sooo don't sue me just because I made Mulan gender confused, besides she's a cute boy!!  
Summary- Mulan with a Trans twist... if you don't like stuff like this don't read it. 3

A/N: Ok this is where I'm going to start varying the timeline and details... buckle your seatbelts. Also don't hurt me if my translations are off because I'm only going on a couple of websites worth of information. And speaking of things that are off, if at any time my portrayal of a trans person is off, feel free to tell me, because once again I have no experience with being transgendered (unless you count cross-dressing for fun every now and then). I don't have time to do the intense research that this deserves... 

Chapter Four- I Hope He Doesn't See Right Through Me... Part 1

Ping. It had come to her in a dream. Her name would be Ping. It meant stable.

"Ping." saying it aloud in her still gravelly and sleep-filled voice sounded stable and sturdy like one of the great stone statues in the village. She cleared her throat and repeated it. It sounded so... right. This pseudonym fit so well with the personality living in side of her that it wasn't a pseudonym at all. Ping replaced Mulan completely, and not just name wise. The other personality, the happy one, was here and he was Ping. Ping was free! Saying his own name over and over again just proved how free he was. That is until he realized he had an audience:

"Now what do you think you're doing?" Mushu. Ping remained silent, how could he explain? "You wake me up at the butt crack of dawn saying some name over and over again, what am I going to do with you Mulan, you're really going to need that lucky crick-"

"Ping. Call me Ping please." He said focusing only on the new name.

"I had a best friend named Ping growing up! Of course he did steal my gir-"

"We should start cooking breakfast. I want to be to camp by noon." said Ping, who was already out of the tent before Mushu could reply. The dragon gaped at the tent flap, and Cri-kee only shrugged.

As soon as the excitement of this new name had moved to the back of Ping's mind, he remembered what he would have to do today. Would they be able to tell that he had the wrong body? What would they do to him if they found out- no he wouldn't think about that. He would just have to keep busy and not let himself think about the upcoming day.

- - - -

Ping was walking straight into the camp, attempting to hold his head up despite feeling as if his stomach was about to fall out of his butt. People were going to see him. Oh god... he should have prayed more. Mushu didn't seem to notice the agony that Ping was going through because he and Cri-kee kept on arguing about something….. maybe luck? Ping couldn't listen to them. He couldn't think of anything, his heart was just about hammering out of his chest. It was surprising that his traveling companions didn't hear it. Twenty feet left, twenty feet to turn and run, twenty feet to escape the dishonor and physical harm that would follow if this didn't work. Ten feet now, he could still turn around no one had seen him, Mushu climbed into his shirt so as not to be seen. Five feet, no he was going to do this. He needed this he had been waiting his entire life for this. He was inside the camp, strong, brave, and courageous soldiers were all around him, and none of them were paying attention at all. A man walked out of a tent and glanced at him, his heart stopped, and then the man looked right past him. He hadn't noticed!! Ping smiled; maybe he wouldn't be killed brutally after all.

"Find somewhere to sign in or they're gonna know somethin's weird!" Mushu said from his new position. Ping grimaced at the thought of talking to people but was emboldened by passing as his true self for the first time. He surveyed the camp, it all seemed surreal; how could they not notice him?

Now where the hell were they hiding the sign-in area? He walked into a tent and was surprised to find a huge altercation in progress.

"You better run!!" Mushu whispered from his perch underneath the shirt. Ping tried his hardest to escape the brawl but his efforts were futile. He ended up right in the middle of the fight underneath what looked like three men knocking over a rice pot. Suddenly a louder than life voice caused the raucous to cease.

"Soldiers!" The voice yelled. Suddenly the group separated and Ping found all fingers pointing at him.

"He started it." Was the collective response of the soldiers.

"I don't need anyone causing trouble in my camp!" yelled the voice which Ping could now see belonged to a man who looked around his age, maybe a little older, and very angry. Ping stumbled with his words this was the first time he was talking to someone as a man.

"Sorry. Uh, I mean sorry you had to see that…" Ping couldn't help the nervous words coming out of his mouth and knew that he sounded like a complete idiot, "…uh, cook out doors."

"What's your name?" the man asked and Ping almost lost his cool for a second but regained his composure at the last second.

"It's Ping." He said only semi-confidently.

"Let me see your conscription notice." Ping nervously fumbled with giving the paper to him. "Fa Zhou! The Fa Zhou?"

"I didn't know Fa Zhou had a son." Said another important but funny looking man.

"Um he doesn't talk much about me." Ping heard funny looking mumble something to angry man.

"Okay Gentlemen, thanks to your new friend Ping, you'll spend tonight picking up every single grain of rice. And tomorrow your tests begin." There was a collective grumble in Ping's direction from the recruits. Ping could hear Mushu from under his shirt saying:

"You know, we have to work on your people skills."

Ping didn't care about the rice. He had just realized that he had again passed. He had even talked to one of his commanding officers and NO ONE had noticed. Ping tired to contain his smile as he got to work on the rice.


	5. The Daughter of a General

Title: I'll make a man out of you  
Author: Scout Graham  
Pairing: Ping/OC  
Rating: No idea yet  
Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan... sooo don't sue me just because I made Mulan gender confused, besides she's a cute boy!!  
Summary- Mulan with a Trans twist... if you don't like stuff like this don't read it.

Chapter Five- The Daughter of a General

She listened at her father's tent flap. There was a group of men inside of it, including her older brother though she didn't consider him to be a man, and they were talking about serious business. That was how it had been ever since she had gotten to the camp, and before that ever since the war, and even before that, ever since her Mother died. The men had their serious business and she was to stay quiet and out of the way. Her only consolation was their complete cluelessness. They had no idea that she had even left her tent during daylight hours, her brother was not the only was one who could pull off the stealth of a soldier. The low rumbling of unrecognizable voices ceded to her father's familiar one and she began to listen once more.

"The Huns have struck here, here, and here. I will take the main troops up to the Tung Shao pass and stop Shan-Yu before he destroys this village." She gasped audibly but thankfully Chi Fu (her father's stupid assistant)'s mindless blabbering had covered it up. Her Father's voice again silenced the less important men. "You will stay here and train the new recruits. When Chi Fu believes you're ready, you will join us... captain." She wondered who he had been talking to until she heard Brother's incredulous voice asking:

"Captain?" Chi Fu immediately butted in to show his objection but her Father knew how to quiet this annoying man. She listened as her Father commended her Brother and her heart jumped for him. This was what he had been fixated on since he was a child. She smiled and decided to cook him a special meal to celebrate. She heard the men beginning to stir within the tent and swiftly took leave towards her own tent. She had to beat her Father there. She knew he wouldn't leave without saying goodbye. Her stealthy getaway was only aided by a huge commotion coming form the center of camp. She heard her brother yelling at the new recruits and laughed to herself. He was acting like such a hardass, but he didn't fool her, she knew that he was a huuuuuuge softy.

She go to her tent with two minutes to spare and busied herself with calligraphy and her other lessons. She even acted surprised when her Father came into her tent.

"Father!" she said trying to look innocent.

"Hello Xiu, have I interrupted your studies?" He asked.

"Oh no, I'm not doing anything terribly important." Xiu said too quickly and eagerly.

"Well, let's make this quick then, I'm horrible with goodbyes and your stealth skills need a bit of a tune up." There was a twinkle in his eyes.

"Aww how did you know?" Xiu whined playfully.

"There is not much that you can get past your old Father here, and you dropped this." He said as he handed her the jade necklace which was currently missing form her neck. She hadn't even noticed that it was gone. "Don't worry my young one, if it were not for that small betrayal I would never have known."

"I'm going to miss you Father." said Xiu going to his arms.

"And I you; goodbye my daughter. Look after your brother and do not kill Chi Fu!" He kissed her forehead and left the tent. Somehow Xiu felt a strange finality to these last goodbyes but she didn't allow herself to think about it. There was a celebratory meal that needed to be cooked.  
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the morning the sound of Shang's voice carried across the camp and shook Xiu from her sleep. Everything was quiet save for the screaming of the older boy. She haphazardly put on a green and blue ruqun and her jade necklace. Then she abandoned her tent and the rules of her father about leaving said tent to see what her crazy brother was doing. As she ran in the direction of Shang's voice she saw no one, there was literally no activity in the camp. Xiu turned the corner to the center of camp she saw a group of men standing in a line. They must be the new recruits because they all looked quite sloppy and she could probably take all of them in a fight, except maybe the short one with the facial hair. She didn't see Chi Fu anywhere and that was always a promising sign. She scanned down the line and noticed her brother yelling at a soldier who couldn't be a day older than she was. Her brother was such a brute sometimes but it was part of his strategy she supposed. He always made an example of the weakest link in order to keep the tougher soldiers in line, and the poor boy he was currently petrifying looked like he could be blown over by a leaf.

"What are you doing here? You are no fighter; you are the saddest excuse for a man I've ever seen. You are a disgrace to your entire family and the family of anyone who has the misfortune of looking upon your face." Shang screamed. There was a moment where all of the recruits tensed up, something big was about to happen. From their perspective the only thing that would save the boy's self-respect would be to hit their commander. However that would also be a disgrace, hitting a commanding officer was not looked upon as honorable. The boy looked as if he were about to snap and Xiu flew into action.

"Oooooh Shaaaaang!!" she cooed running out into the open, "You forgot your lucky hair tie." She said pulling out her own flower-patterned hair tie and shoving it in her brother's face. She had all of the soldiers' complete attention and could hear them whispering to one another about her. They were acting as if they had not seen a woman in their entire lives. Shang was sputtering, his face looked to be a mixture of shock and pure rage, he was about to say something but she cut him off:

"Come Brother you also forgot to have your tea this morning. I won't let you come back to fighting until you've drank an entire pot with me." As Xiu turned to lead Shang away she gave the boy a little wink and then she proudly tugged her brother off in the direction of her tent.

The soldiers watched her go, many making lewd gestures and raunchy comments. They began to disband completely forgetting the fight and their disdain for the boy who had caused the appearance of this beautiful woman. And the boy stood rooted to the ground, unsure of every emotion passing through his borrowed body and completely undone by a single wink.


	6. Under the Trees

Title: I'll make a man out of you  
Author: Scout Graham  
Pairing: Ping/OC  
Rating: No idea yet  
Disclaimer: I do not own Mulan... sooo don't sue me just because I made Mulan gender confused, besides she's a cute boy!!  
Summary- Mulan with a Trans twist... if you don't like stuff like this don't read it.

Chapter Six- Under the Trees

The sun's rays were beginning to chap and blister Ping's skin. He could move under the shade of the trees nearby but he didn't feel like it. He was burning up but it wasn't just the sun. He could feel his entire torso fill with fire at the thought of today's events. After his initial shock had been obliterated by the rage he felt he had come here to lie in the sun. Hopefully it would burn him up on the outside like he was burning on the inside; all because of that girl.

His head was swimming as he seethed. Who the fuck was she to save him? What made her so high and mighty that she could go around fighting other people's battles? She had made him look like a disgrace in front of all of the other soldiers. She had made him even more of a target for harassment from them, and not to mention Shang. She had done the impossible and made the ordeal that he currently called life ten times harder for Ping. And the worst was that little wink she had given him; he had come completely unglued. What the hell had she done to him, some kind of insane voodoo? It was only a small eye twitch for ancestors-sake! But that eye twitch had made him feel something different. Something warm, something... he didn't want to think about. He couldn't think about. This was the girl who had basically just ruined his life. 

Not that there was much to ruin. Sure he felt whole now, but he was doing a pretty shitty job of being a man. Maybe this wasn't the right decision after all. Maybe creatures like him didn't fit anywhere in this world. He was a pitiful abomination, his body would never match his mind, and he was nowhere close to being honorable. He had probably brought more dishonor to his family with this one misguided journey than any other relative would ever be capable of. Even the nobility of idea of saving his father seemed to be clouded with his own selfish wish to be free.

Another bout of rage compelled him to get up and go under one of the trees. He proceeded to scream obscenities and pound his fists against the tree's rough bark until he collapsed yet again. Still blinded with anger he shook on the ground. "Why would you make me like this?" he screamed to whatever deity was listening, and he felt tears begin to sting his burnt skin. He lay on the ground sobbing until it felt like all of his energy had left him. Then he was left with only his thoughts.

Reason was beginning to sink in and his hands were beginning to throb. The skin had been scraped off pretty badly on several of his knuckles and he was bleeding. Thoughts of bandages were fleeting though and soon Ping's brain was back to the girl. She had been trying to do the right thing, he supposed, even if it had screwed him over a little bit. He decided that he would have to thank her for being kind enough to stop Shang's rant. Then there was the matter of the wink…

"Mula... Ping! Where have you been?" Mushu scolded, jarring Ping from his thoughts. 

"Um here..." said Ping suddenly realizing that he'd been in this clearing by the lake for far too long. 

"Don't you sass me girl, erm boy. I've been worried sick looking for you. You missed afternoon exercises and…. Holy Great Ancestor what happened to you?" The small dragon climbed onto Ping's shoulder as he sat up.

"What do you mean?" asked Ping hoarsely. Then he realized what Mushu was talking about. Hours of crying and hitting things would leave anyone looking pretty rough. Not to mention the killer sunburn he had going.

"You look like you lost a fight with a Hun," The Dragon began to smooth Ping's ruffled hair "and look at these hands, what am I gonna do with you boy?"

Ping said nothing as he struggled to stand up. He had to get back to camp it was extremely late, and if Mushu had noticed that he was missing then someone else was bound to notice. Mushu and Cri-Kee continued to fuss over Ping's appearance as he slowly made his way back to the camp. They seemed to understand the need for quiet and Ping was grateful. He focused on the story he was going to tell his commanding officer about where he had been all afternoon. Nothing was coming to mind at all.

When Ping re-entered the camp it was dinner time. The line of recruits waited in line to gather their rations of rice. No one noticed him as he walked by. Maybe he wouldn't have to explain himself after all. He decided against eating dinner and went instead to the training grounds. He had missed his daily exercises and training drills and he wasn't about to fall behind.

He started one of the intricate sparring drills that Shang favored with his Gun. After several minutes he could no longer focus due to the pain in his hands. His movements became sloppy and imprecise. He was about to stop when a voice startled him and caused him to knock over a pile of staffs.

"After that display, I can see why my Brother was picking on you."

Ping gasped audibly. What was _she _doing here?

A Gun is a Chinese fighting staff.

Let me know what you guys think!


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